Art
Art Department
The Art department consists of two specialist rooms and a small sixth form studio. There is a large central store, and facilities for ceramics.
There are currently three Art teachers who teach across the age range from Year 7 to Year 13, and have responsibility for AS and A2 teaching.
The department is well resourced for consumable materials, books and equipment, including IT facilities in the design technology department of computers with a range of printers and scanners.
Art work is exhibited out of the Department in a central display area, and is opened to members of the public, and staff and students.
Lawrence Sheriff School also offers an excellent art foundation course.
If you are interested please click on the link below for more details.
Link to the Foundation Course Details
In Key stage three, students receive four blocks of art as part of a rotation system with other subjects. In both year eight and year seven students receive two blocks of art covering separate units of work investigating a variety of art materials and techniques. Each block is approximately six weeks in length, three lessons a week.
Year seven
Block one
Students are introduced to basic drawing skills and colour theory, this leads to a cultural project investigating Aboriginal art and design. Students use Aboriginal signs and symbols in visual storytelling, and use information and research to produce design work influenced by various Aboriginal arts. They also work in clay to produce a ceramic tile and use watercolour paints within their designs.
Block two
Students are introduced to portraiture. They learn various drawing principles of facial proportion, understand how emotions are portrayed visually in art works, and produce outcomes working from direct observation. They use a variety of materials within the work including pencil tonal work, line drawing and watercolours to create washes and fine details.
Year eight
Block one
Students investigate masks and mask-making in order to produce their own mask influenced by their research and design work. Students work from both primary and secondary sources to develop their ideas and final design. Students begin to understand how artists develop their work from similar sources. Students use a variety of materials in the project to widen their knowledge and understanding of art materials and techniques; including water-soluble pencils, watercolour and acrylic paints and Papier-mâché techniques.
Block Two
In the second block students undertake a graphics based project producing work to a design brief to produce an outcome using traditional printing techniques. Students will work from direct observation using full tonal drawings, and simplify and stylise drawings in preparation for use in a print. They also study the work of tessellation used by artists and designers, experiment with tessellation and paper design to create wall paper designs. They then transfer their designs into block printing plates to create repeat pattern wallpaper using specialist materials and techniques.
At key stage four students receive three art lessons a week in years nine, ten and eleven.
All students start work towards their GCSE in art from year nine and continue their studies in years ten and eleven. .The GCSE is 60% coursework (portfolio unit) and 40% externally set assignment concluding with a ten hour practical exam.
Course: GCSE Edexcel Art
Code: 2AD01
Website: www.edexcel.org.uk
[Coursework: 5AD01Unit 1 (60%), Exams: 5AD02 Unit 2 – externally set assignment, delivered to the students in January of year eleven and completed with a 10 hour exam in March/April of Yr11.(40%)]
Some boys may take GCSE Art at the end of Year 10 and move on to other work (e.g. AS Art) in Year 11
At Lawrence Sheriff School the Portfolio unit is broken down into smaller sub units; all of which will support an overall title. Students are encouraged to engage in a personal response allowing for freedom with the use of materials and techniques that best suits the individual.
Year 9: students spend the first one and a half terms widening their knowledge and understanding of the world of art. Students follow an introductory teacher led course using a variety of materials and techniques including; watercolour and acrylic paints, oil and chalk pastels, collage, print making, sculpture and clay.
During the second half of the year students are led through the process of understanding how to produce art work to meet the assessment objectives. The theme for year nine is natural form starting with still-life studies and progressing to pupils personal interests.
Year 10 and 11: students continue to develop work towards their portfolio. They are given a title to explore that compliments the overall title for the portfolio unit. Students may develop their work as two smaller units or as one longer investigative unit through year ten and eleven producing support work in the form of worksheets and/or sketchbooks and a final outcome or outcomes.
In January of year eleven students receive their externally set assignment. In the Spring term they will develop ideas and supporting work in preparation for the ten hour practical exam set at the end of the term or the beginning of the Summer term.
The annual exhibition of year eleven GCSE, GCE and Foundation art is open to the public, parents and friends of the school; it takes place towards the end of June in a central display area in the school.
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Sixth Form prospectus - Please click here
